Roll press

ABSTRACT

A roll press, particular for pressing raked material in sewage disposal plants, comprises an adjustable feed chute for guiding the material to be pressed into a wedge-shaped nip formed by an upper press roll and a portion of the chute.

United States Patent [72] lnventors PaulWeber Karlsruhe-Waldstadt; Ignaz Daferner, Karlsruhe; Bertram Botsch, Karlsruhe; Joachim Dittrich Karlsruhe, all of Germany [211 App]. No. 811,125

[22] Filed Mar. 27, 1969 [45] Patented Sept. 28, 1971 [73] Assignee Maschinenfabrik H. Geiger Karlsruhe, Germany [32] Priority Mar. 27, 1968, Oct. 12, 1968, Oct. 12, 1968, Jan. 18, 1969 [33] Germany [31] P 17 52 050.2,P 18 02, 839.2,P 18 02 843.8 and P 19 02 530.0

[54] ROLL PRESS 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 100/156, 100/116,100/173 [51] lnt.Cl B301) 3/02 Primary Examiner- Billy J. Wilhite Att0rneys-Ernest F. Marmorek, Jordan B. Bierman and Marmorek & Bierman ABSTRACT: A roll press, particular for pressing raked material in sewage disposal plants, comprises an adjustable feed chute for guiding the material to be pressed into a wedgeshaped nip formed by an upper press roll and a portion of the chute.

ROLL PRESS ROLL PRESS The invention relates to a roll press particularly for pressing raked matter, the roll press comprising at least one approximately horizontally positioned roll and a specially constructed feeding runway.

Large amounts of raked material accumulate in clarifying and other water-purification plants. This material is not readily suitable for storage or combustion because of its great water content. Presses are used for dehydration which also reduce the volume of the raked material in a desired manner.

A difficulty experienced when using conventional presses is due to the widely varying consistency of the raked material. Rough, bulky material must be considered which may be found in the raked material at irregular intervals; on the other hand, the raked material consists of many fine substances, such as fibrous material and leaves which can be taken along by the pressed-out liquid. If such presses have discharge openings for the pressed-out liquid, the openings must be frequently cleaned. Aside from the unhygienic conditions, the hazardous occurrence of embracing of structural elements by the fiber material is feared. The ends of the fibers try to pass through different discharge openings and remain hanging on the structure material between the openings. The fibers coalesce behind the web between the openings, making the embracement more tight.

Quite frequently the unpressed raked material cannot be fed into the press chambers without disturbances. The blocking material tends to form much-feared bridges in the feed chutes which interrupt the pressing operation. The composition of the raked material is very different in different operating periods. For example, at floods or after a heavy rainfall, blocking substances appear so regularly that they form the main substance of the raked material for a certain length of time. Presses for the raked material must be equally suitable for each type of material or must be easily adjustable to suit different materials. The number of parts which are in contact with the raked material, particularly of the moving parts, should be as little as possible.

It is among the principal objects of the present invention to provide a press for compacting raked material which avoids the aforedescribed shortcomings of conventional presses and which fulfills the aforesaid conditions completely and simultaneously.

This object is obtained by coordinating a feed chute with a roll press having at least one approximately horizontal top roll and making adjustable the position of the chute relative to the roll within wide limits with respect to elevation as well as with respect to its location relative to the roll gap and with respect to the inclination along the rolling direction.

Further objects of the invention will become evident as the description proceeds.

Further developments of the invention are particularly directed towards a special form and construction of the feed chute and to the automatic adjustment of the roll gap by movability of the top roll relative to a permanently positively adjusted feed chute.

The novel features which are considered characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, and additional objects and advantages thereof will best be understood from the following description of embodiments thereof when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic longitudinal sectional view of a roll press according to the invention comprising a curved adjustable feed chute.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic longitudinal sectional view of a modified roll press according to the invention comprising a feed chute which is undulated and several times interrupted transversely to rolling direction.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic longitudinal sectional view of a further modification of a roll press according to the invention comprising an upper roll which is double-jointedly supported.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 1 of the drawing, there is provided an upper roll 1 which ismovably supported in a frame 2 whereas a lower roll 3 is rigidly supported in the frame 2. A feed chute 4 is connected to the frame 2 by means of adjustable connecting elements 5 and 6 and is connected to the axle of the lower roll by means of adjustable connecting elements 7.

The raked material is delivered to the feed chute and drops into the nip formed by the upper roll and the feed chute. The material is conveyed in rolling direction by the upper roll, which is provided with teeth, and is dropped into a receptacle 8 after the material leaves the roll gap. The squeezed-out water flows away through a clearance 9 between the lower roll and the feed chute. The upper roll is movably connected to the roll frame and yields in upper direction to bulky material which has entered with the raked material. Destructions are thereby prevented. The adjustable connecting elements 5, 6 and 7 permit free choice of the shape, size and position of the nip formed between the upper roll and the feed chute. Depending on the load the adjustable connecting elements may be hydraulically or pneumatically operated.

The adjustable connecting elements in the arrangement according to FIGS. 1 and 3 make sure that the extent of the clearance between the lower roll and the chute is determined by the adjustment of the length of the element 7 and remains so even at different adjustments of the elements 5 and 6.

The roll press shown in FIG. 2 has only one roll and a feed chute which is so constructed and arranged as to form the only counterpress means. The roll is articulated to the roll press frame and rests only on the feed chute. The latter is composed of a curved portion 10 corresponding to the entire chute 4 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and several swingably connected individual counterpress elements 11. The position of the feed chute with the articulated individual elements can be defined relative to the roll as a whole by means of adjustable elements 12, 13 and 14. In this embodiment of the invention, the pressing or squeezing operation takes place between the roll and all individual counterpress elements. The squeezedout water flows away through the clearances between the counterpress elements and is discharged into and carried away in a collector 15. As in the arrangement according to FIG. 1, the pressed raked material is automatically pushed into a container 16.

FIG. 3 shows a roll press whichaffords a particularly reliable, automatic operation. An upper roll 17 is connected to a linkage system which, in the illustrated arrangement, comprises two approximately parallel axes of articulation 18 and 19. The upper roll 17, which may be provided with teeth, not shown, can move upward or climb when bulky material comes along; thereby the upper roll retains a smallest possible roll clearance when travelling along the feed chute. In contradistinction thereto, the roll clearance in a roll press, for example, as shown in FIG. 1 is increased perpendicular to the rolling direction, when bulky material is encountered.

The climbing effect takes place also when bridges are formed by the raked material, and causes destruction of the bridges. In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 3, shape, size and position of the nip formed by the upper roll and the chute are capable of being varied also by the second limiting member, namely the upper roll. The nip adjusts itself automatically to the composition of the raked material.

The feed chute is preferably curved. The curvature along the travel direction of the goods to be pressed effects longer pressing because the wedge-shaped nip formed by the upper roll and a curved feed chute obviously decreases more slowly at a curved chute than at a plane chute. The effect of the improved form of the wedge-shaped nip makes advance of the goods to be pressed more reliable.

The upper roll is preferably provided with teeth whereas the feed chute and also the lower roll, if a lower roll is provided,

are smooth. The upper roll which is the moved part and also forms the moving part, seizes the supplied raked material by its teeth and lets it slide along the feed chute and along the lower roll. If the surface of the latter is smooth, frictional resistance is small. A plated feed chute and lower roll, if any, have been found satisfactory. Rust and acid proof steels are preferably used as plating material.

A height of the teeth of the upper roll between 5 and 40 mm. has been found particularly advantageous. With shorter teeth seizing and advancing of the raked material is not reliable. With teeth higher than 40 mm., too great pocketlike spaces are formed in the material advanced by the upper roll, wherein the press pressure does not spread sufficiently uniformly so that the material is not sufficiently dehydrated. Besides, there is the danger that when using greater teeth the raked material adheres to the upper roll and is taken along beyond the dropping location.

A roll press arranged according to the invention has the following additional advantages:

The space wherein the pressing pressure is applied need not be sealed because the rolling width is greater than the feed width. The squeezed-out water flows away either at the side of the raked material or opposite to the rolling direction through the clearance between the chute and the lower roll or through the clearances between the individual parts of the feed chute, because of the increase of the press pressure in the rolling direction. The teeth of the upper roll clean the clearances because the teeth seize the raked material which may have somewhat entered the clearances, and advance the material. An uncomplicated self-cleaning is assured.

A roll press according to the invention can easily be adjusted to suit entirely different goods to be pressed. The feed chute is swung or moved so that a considerably steeper or flatter, wider or narrower nip is obtained than that shown in FIGS. 1,2 or 3.

The advantage of a roll press over a piston press is the continuous operation of the former. The cakes of pressed material produced by a roll press are better suited for combustion or composting than the compact material produced by a piston press.

What is claimed is:

l. A roll press, particularly for raked material,

comprising in combination:

a frame:

at least one roll rotatable about an axis and movable in such a manner that said axis in any position is parallel to the axis in any other position;

first guide means connected to said roll at said axis and connected to said frame and operable to guide said roll throughout said positions;

a chute adjacent the periphery of said roll and defining with said periphery a passage for said material, said chute being adjustably pivotable relative to said roll for varying the depth of said passage; and

second guide means connected to said frame and connected to said chute at least at two points spaced apart from each other and operative to adjust the position of said chute relative to said roll.

2. A roll press as defined in claim 1 wherein said chute is subdivided into undulated counter press elements, at least some of said elements being spaced apart from each other.

3. A roll press as defined in claim 1 wherein said chute comprises a plurality of counterpress elements placed in spaced relation.

4. A roll press as defined in claim 3, said counterpress elements being individually swingable around axes parallel to said roll.

5. A roll press as defined in claim 1 wherein teeth are provided on the surface of said roll, the height of the teeth being between 5 mm. and 40 mm.

6. A roll press as defined in claim 1, said first guide means comprising a link including two pairs of linked levers, one of each pairs connected to said frame and the other to said roll. 

1. A roll press, particularly for raked material, comprising in combination: a frame; at least one roll rotatable about an axis and movable in such a manner that said axis in any position is parallel to the axis in any other position; first guide means connected to said roll at said axis and connected to said frame and operable to guide said roll throughout said positions; a chute adjacent the periphery of said roll and defining with said periphery a passage for saiD material, said chute being adjustably pivotable relative to said roll for varying the depth of said passage; and second guide means connected to said frame and connected to said chute at least at two points spaced apart from each other and operative to adjust the position of said chute relative to said roll.
 2. A roll press as defined in claim 1 wherein said chute is subdivided into undulated counter press elements, at least some of said elements being spaced apart from each other.
 3. A roll press as defined in claim 1 wherein said chute comprises a plurality of counterpress elements placed in spaced relation.
 4. A roll press as defined in claim 3, said counterpress elements being individually swingable around axes parallel to said roll.
 5. A roll press as defined in claim 1 wherein teeth are provided on the surface of said roll, the height of the teeth being between 5 mm. and 40 mm.
 6. A roll press as defined in claim 1, said first guide means comprising a link including two pairs of linked levers, one of each pairs connected to said frame and the other to said roll. 